Jackley: Tighten up laws to curb meth

Attorney general frames crime proposals, tweaks for legislators

Jan. 6, 2014

Marty Jackley

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Legislative recommendations

Attorney General Marty Jackley’s proposals for the Legislature involve changes in • monitoring of cold medicines that can be used in making meth; • the state’s 24-7 sobriety program; • crime victim notification; • livestock inspection violations

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Attorney General Marty Jackley wants lawmakers to tighten monitoring of cold medicines used to make methamphetamine, allow for the seizure of property from sex offenders, and strengthen consumer protection.

The list of proposed legislation from the state’s top law enforcement official also includes tweaks to the state’s 24/7 sobriety program and more notification options for crime victims.

The cold-medicine law comes as the state experiences a surge in the seizure of small-scale methamphetamine operations.

Last year, 79 pounds of meth were seized by South Dakota law enforcement, with 1,130 arrests. In 2012, there were 48 pounds seized and 669 arrests.

Pseudoephedrine, present in several cold medicines, is a key ingredient in meth. The state keeps paper records of people who buy pseudoephedrine from retailers, but Jackley proposes electronic monitoring that would be tied to 29 other states.

Stores would get “stop sale” messages if someone already has bought a significant amount of the medicine from any seller in South Dakota or the 29 states in the database.

Jackley said the program would be similar to the state’s prescription-drug monitoring program.

“This is less a law enforcement measure than a prevention tool,” Jackley said.

The database could be useful in drug investigations, too. The paper system for tracking pseudoephedrine purchases can be clunky, Sioux Falls Police Department spokesman Sam Clemens said.

“I’m not sure how often (detectives) check that record, because it’s written out,” Clemens said. “You have to actually flip through the pages.”

Sex-offender assets

State law allows law enforcement to seize assets acquired through or used for child pornography and human trafficking crimes, but lacks a mechanism for allowing the state to keep and sell or simply discard computers, phones and other items taken during investigations.

“What we’ve had to do is clean up the computers and give them back” to offenders, Jackley said.

If his bill goes through, law enforcement could seize the property and claim it through a civil filing, similar to the process used in drug forfeitures.

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If the property can be sold, the money could be used to fund human trafficking or child-porn investigations.

Protecting elderly

A consumer protection working group developed a series of proposals focusing on scam emails, phone calls and letters, many of which target the elderly. Rep. Peggy Gibson, D-Huron, who was vice chairwoman of the group, has cared for elderly parents and seen the scams.

“I see the volume of deceptive junk that comes through the mail and the number of calls that come in targeting people,” Gibson said.

The group proposes increasing penalties for deceptive practices, allowing prosecutors to charge those who steal debit card information with identity theft just as they charge those who steal credit card data, making it a crime to send unsolicited bills or products in the mail, and letting the attorney general’s office collect legal fees in consumer protection cases.

Jackley said the consumer protection division fielded 20,000 calls last year. The division includes one lawyer, six uncertified investigators and an employee who screens calls, letters and emails.

24/7 sobriety fees

Jackley also proposes a change to the 24/7 sobriety program to allow sheriff’s offices, not clerks of court, to collect the fees for electronic alcohol testing. It’s a matter of efficiency, Jackley said. Sheriff’s offices already are responsible for administering breath tests and scanning SCRAM bracelets worn by offenders.

A victim notification proposal makes greater use of State Automated Victim Information and Notification, or SAVIN, an electronic system made possible through last year’s criminal justice reform package.

SAVIN would send automatic phone, text or email updates to crime victims to let them know when an offender is released from jail or prison, is scheduled to appear in court or has an upcoming parole hearing. Current law requires notification in writing.

Livestock violations

The final proposal involves the livestock brand board.

Officers now can take suspected violators of livestock inspection rules into custody or let them go, write a report and forward it to a prosecutor’s office to be charged. In many cases, taking a person into custody would force law enforcement to find a way to deal with the livestock. But forwarding the information to a prosecutor eats up staff time for what often are misdemeanors.

The proposal would let offenders be issued a citation, which would be handled like a traffic ticket.